Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain by themselves, and suddenly Jesus was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter wanted to build three shelters, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah, but about that time a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased. Listen to Him!” (Matthew 17:1-5).
Moses and Elijah were alive and well; their souls were not sleeping, and since there is no recorded death of Elijah, he was taken up into a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11), we can only speculate on how God does all this. Because none of us knows or understands totally how God works, “Who has understood the mind of the Lord, or instructed Him as His counselor? (cf. Isaiah 40:13, Romans 11:34, 1 Corinthians 2:16).
Somehow the three apostles knew who Moses and Elijah were. What kind of bodies were they in? We do not know. Where had Moses and Elijah been for all those earthly years? I think that they had been down in Abraham’s bosom (Paradise), the place where the righteous dead were kept before the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and much like God did with Samuel, He brought them out for this special occasion. I do not believe that they had been in heaven, because Jesus had not died for the sins of the world, the perfect sacrifice had not been offered yet.
The Bible tells us that only the high priest could enter into the Holy place in the tabernacle, and he had to take an offering of blood for himself and the people. This shows us that the way into the Most Holy Place was not yet available to the common man while the tabernacle, (or temple) was still standing. This also shows that all the sacrifices that were offered for the sins of the high priest and the people could only cover their sins, not do away with them. These sacrifices were only external regulations that were temporarily put into place until the perfect sacrifice was offered, which was Jesus Christ (read Hebrews 9:1-28). And the Bible tells us, “Because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:4).
One of the most overlooked passages of Scripture is when just before Jesus died, He cried out in a loud voice, He gave up His Spirit and at that moment the curtain of the temple was torn from top to bottom, the earth shook and the rocks split. Then some of the tombs opened and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into Jerusalem and appeared to many people. Now notice, it was after Jesus’ resurrection from the dead that they went into the city, not before (read Matthew 27:50-53).
Where had these people been since they had died? They had been in Paradise where the righteous dead were kept until Jesus gave His life on the Cross for the sins of the of the world. John wrote, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). When Jesus was being crucified on the Cross, there were two criminals that were being crucified, one on each side of Jesus. One of the criminals was insulting Jesus, but the other one said, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43). Jesus didn’t say that the criminal would be in heaven with Him, but he would be with Him in Paradise.
When the saints came out of the graves after Jesus was resurrected, that was the beginning of the first resurrection, which includes all of the righteous before Jesus died. This first resurrection is still going on today, and will be completed when Jesus locks Satan up in the abyss for a thousand years. John wrote, “Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years” (Revelation 20:5-6).
We make the mistake of thinking that the righteous that died before Jesus went to the Cross had no place to go, so they had to be soul sleeping, but that is not true. They were held in Abraham’s bosom (Paradise) until the Perfect Sacrifice was made. This was not a bad place, it was a place for safe keeping for those who had lived by faith. They, like us, did not live perfect lives, but they did live by faith. In the great faith chapter, the Bible tells us, “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth” (Hebrews 11:13). Because of their faith God put them in a good and safe place until Jesus made the Perfect Sacrifice (Read all of Hebrews 11).
In the next article I will show, from Paul’s writings, more about what happens when a Christian leaves this earthly body we live in on this earth. While we are on this earth, in our earthly bodies, we live in a time dimension, but when we leave this earthly body and move into our heavenly bodies we move into the eternal realm, where there is no such thing as time. One thought I want to leave you with, if you don’t have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you will miss the first resurrection. More next time.